We all watch the news with horror when we hear about a homicide that happens not that far away from us. While a murder just blocks or even a couple of towns away from your house would make anyone uneasy, in the long run, most likely, where you live is relatively safe.

So we wanted to get the facts straight and dug into the FBI crime data in order to identify the places with the most murders and the highest murder rates per capita in North Carolina.

How we calculated the murder capitals of North Carolina

While there are surveys and public polls on what cities in a state are the most dangerous, we didn’t want to rely on speculation and opinion. Instead, we looked at the hard numbers from the FBI’s last year of reporting. Specifically, we analyzed the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report which summarizes the number of murders that may happen in each city per year.

We only looked every single city in North Carolina for which FBI data was available for the most recent FBI Crime In The United States. That left us with 47 cities to rank.

We felt as if a small place with 2,500 people and two murders makes it a lot more dangerous than a city of 25,000 people with one murder.We must note that this report is not an analysis of the effectiveness of local police departments. It simply states where murders occurred most frequently.

Rocky Mount is a city in Edgecombe and Nash counties in the Atlantic coastal plain region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Although it was not formally incorporated until February 28, 1907, the North Carolina community that became the city of Rocky Mount dates from the beginning of the 19th century. The first post office in the area opened in 1816. The city’s population was 57,685 at the 2010 census, with an estimated population of 56,325 in 2014. Rocky Mount has received the All-America City Award from the National Civic League two times, in 1969 and 1999.

Goldsboro is a city in Wayne County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 36,437 at the 2010 Census. It is the principal city of and is included in the Goldsboro, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. The nearby town of Waynesboro was founded in 1787 and Goldsboro was incorporated in 1847. It is the county seat of Wayne County. The city is situated in North Carolina’s Coastal Plain and is bordered on the south by the Neuse River and the west by the Little River, about 43 miles southwest of Greenville and 55 miles southeast of Raleigh, the state capital and 87 miles northwest of Wilmington in Southeastern North Carolina. Goldsboro is best known as home to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.

Greensboro ; formerly Greensborough) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the 3rd-most populous city in North Carolina, the 68th-most populous city in the United States, and the county seat and largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 269,666, and in 2015 the estimated population was 285,342. Three major interstate highways in the Piedmont region of central North Carolina were built to intersect at this city.

Kinston is a city in Lenoir County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 21,677 at the 2010 Census. It has been the county seat of Lenoir County since its formation in 1791. Kinston is located in the coastal plains region of Eastern North Carolina.

High Point is a city located in the Piedmont Triad region of the State of North Carolina. As of the 2010 census the city had a total population of 104,371, with an estimated population of 108,629 in 2014. High Point is currently the ninth-largest municipality in North Carolina.

Hickory is a city located primarily in Catawba County, North Carolina, with parts in adjoining Burke and Caldwell counties. The city’s population at the 2010 census was 40,010, with an estimated population in 2015 of 40,374. Hickory is the principal city in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton MSA, in which the population at the 2010 census was 365,497 and is included as part of the Charlotte-Concord Combined Statistical Area.

There You Have It – The Places With The Most Murders In North Carolina For 2019

If you’re looking at the places in North Carolina with the most murders, and where residents have the highest chances of being killed themselves, this is an accurate list. Again, these statistics are an indication of where crimes occur, not a statement about the effectiveness of the law enforcement in the areas they serve.